


A Trip to the Beach

by Europolarist



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-13
Updated: 2016-11-13
Packaged: 2018-08-30 19:04:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8545501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Europolarist/pseuds/Europolarist
Summary: Shepard gets a reprieve from her questioning and spends some time with Thane and Kolyat while the two drell visit Earth





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [inferablefiend](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inferablefiend/gifts).



Shepard sighed, giving up on her game of solitaire, and glanced up at the clock above Vega’s head.

It had been four months, thirteen days, nine hours and  forty-two minutes since she’d given herself over to the Alliance in order to answer to the Admirality Board for  her actions during the so-called “Alpha Relay Incident”.

She leaned forward, dropping her elbows onto the table and rubbing at her eyebrows with the tips of her ring fingers. She stared at the table.

The stippled laminate that reflected back up at her blurred as she let her mind go blank, blocking out the sounds of the guards and soldiers walking around in the hall.

The entire incarceration was a joke. She’d been working outside of Alliance rules since well before her resurrection as a Cerberus lackey, in fact if anyone should have arrested her it should have been the Galactic Council; but she was here because a member of the Alliance had asked her to perform an under-the-table favor and it had ended up with over 300,000 batarians dead, not to mention the countless other men, women, and children that might have been in the system undocumented.

“Commander?”

She snapoped her head up to look at Vega, whose frown indicated that he might have called her name more than once before she heard it and responded, trepidation rising in her chest.

“Admiral Hackett is requesting a vid-call with you.”

Shepard frowned, he hadn’t said anything during their last conversation that indicated that he would be contacting her again, at least while the trial was in progress.

Vega pulled his omni-tool band off his wrist and placed it on the table, then in a quick movement, he answered the hail and made his way to the door to give her some privacy.

“Admiral Hackett,” she started, waiting for the image to buffer into something helpful.

“Siha,” a familiar voice said over the audio and Shepard felt her heart nearly stop.

“Thane?”

The image cleared to show Thane standing in what looked to be Hackett’s office.

“I’ve only been given a few minutes to talk to you,” he said, covering his mouth to clear his throat. 

Shepard winced.

“What’s going on?” she asked, her throat drying.

“You should be getting a visitor soon,” he said, a laugh in his voice. 

“I don’t understand,” she said, searching the vid as if Thane were here in front of her.

“Would you like to join me, and Kolyat, for a weekend at the beach?”

She frowned, trying to figure out what was going on and who would have done something so reckless.

“You have some very powerful friends,” he said, “and it has been decided that you deserve a few days out of the detention center.”

Shepard started.

“The Alliance is agreeing to this,” she asked, looking around her quarters. 

Thane hummed from the other side of the vid and smiled.

“Of course they did,” he smiled. “I merely wanted to see your reaction to the news rather than giving that pleasure to the soldiers at the base.”

A chuckle escaped his lips.

“I’ll see you soon, siha.”

The call ended and a few seconds later, like he’d known the call was over, Lieutenant Vega strode into her small apartment of rooms. 

“You have a visitor,” he said, looking over his shoulder at the person following him.

“Admiral Anderson,” Shepard gasped, jumping out of her chair and nearly toppling it to the floor before she caught the seat in mid-fall.

The man, commanding and familiar all at the same time, gave Shepard a smile and dismissed the Lieutenant.

Once alone, the Admiral greeted Shepard with a proper hug and she melted into his arms for a moment.

“Vega told me you had a message from Admiral Hackett’s office,” he said, a glint of mischievousness in his eye.

“Yes, sir,” she started, unsure what all she was allowed to say as they moved toward the table. 

“Officially, you’re being handed over to the care of Admiral Hackett for the weekend. A few days of reprieve from the questioning since you’ve been so helpful.”

“That’s extremely considerate of the board,” she said. 

“You will be monitored,” he said, shrugging his shoulder. “It’s for your protection as much as it is reassurance that you won’t be sneaking off planet.”

Shepard nodded, it all seemed reasonable. And though due-process was annoying her, at least everything seemed to be above board. 

“Where am I going, sir?”

“A quiet beach town on the panhandle of Florida,” he said. “Far enough away not to garner any attention, but close enough to a small Alliance outpost that a few soldiers walking in town would be normal.”

Shepard nodded.

Within an hour, Shepard had signed all paperwork that gave her 48-hour freedom along with an affidavit that if she did not return promptly on Sunday evening, that the Alliance was within their rights to hunt her down and punish her to the full extent of the law.

She boarded an unmarked-Alliance vessel, a small Kodiak that had been outfitted with a squad of special forces men and women, all armed, apparently, for her own protection.

It took two hours for the vessel to fly from Vancouver to Florida and Shepard was glad for the short flight time. It certainly wouldn’t have been as fast as just taking the Normandy, but then her ship was locked away likely in a hanger somewhere in a forest or desert where it could be kept safe from prying eyes. 

Or, she smirked, it was on the Luna base.

She hadn’t heard from anyone else in her team, but she hadn’t expected to get the message from Thane either.

When the Kodiak landed on the pad and her squad had confirmed the area free of hostiles, Shepard stepped out into the warm Floridian sun. She’d never been to the Gulf of Mexico, but the sea air smelled spectacular. 

Her heart skipped a beat when Shepard spotted Thane’s familiar form near the stairwell that led away from the LZ.

Beside him stood Kolyat, looking slightly uncomfortable.

She ran forward and launched herself into the drell’s arms, her body molding against his familiar body and his arms wrapping around her tightly.

“Siha,” he murmured.

She pulled away and Thane reached up, his fingers touching her chin and pressed a kiss to her lips.

“It is good to see you again.”

Shepard watched the grin spread on his face and laughed lightly.

“It is good to see you too.”

Stepping back she faced Kolyat and greeted him.

“How are you enjoying your visit,” she asked.

“It has been an eye-opening adventure,” the younger drell nodded, bowing his head in her direction.

“Our rented house is just a few blocks down,” Thane said, pointing to the west. “But I thought perhaps instead we might walk along the boardwalk. It’s the off season, so there aren’t many tourists.”

Shepard grinned and took his offered arm, letting the drell lead her down the steps to the sidewalk.

Behind her, Shepard could hear the Kodiak take off and the rather conspicuous guards trailing behind.

They walked along the path amiably toward what looked to be the social center of a small town, a few restaurants and shops happily situated against the shore. 

“I did some research,” Koylat said, catching her attention.

She raised an eyebrow and looked over at Thane’s son.

“Yeah?”

“There are a few restaurants that offer food for dextro races. It will be interesting to see how badly they compare.”

 “This is lovely,” she said, casting her eyes out over the water as they walked up the few steps that lead to the boardwalk. On her left, the sand was pure white and the waves rolling in spoke of clear water, unrivalled by anything save the beaches she’d see at Elysium all those years ago. 

“I’m surprised this place isn’t overrun by tourists,” she said, looking up at the drell at her side.

“We seem to have hit a break in the waves,” he replied. “Families have returned home for the season and the only traffic appears to be local.”

Shepard smiled. At least that would cut down on the chances of being spotted by a journalist.

Along the boardwalk, vendors were set up selling seashell wind chimes and novelty t-shirts.

“Here’s the place,” Kolyat said, pointing in the direction of a typically styled beachfront restaurant, complete with fake palm trees and tiki torches at the entrance. The chalkboard sign advertised Unlimited Mimosa’s from 9-12 as a special for their brunch menu.

They were seated quickly at a table overlooking the water and it took only a few minutes for their meal choices to be taken.

“This is nice,” Shepard admitted, looking over the crystal blue surf.

“It is nice to be reminded of what we are fighting for,” Thane said, his voice low and rumbling.

She quirked an eyebrow at her lover, boyfriend, companion? Shepard wasn’t entirely sure what they called themselves, but was happy to be at his side in any capacity.

The drell reached out and covered her hand with his and gave her a small smile.

“A drab room in a closed-off building is hardly the place to allow siha the ability to regenerate her strength and will.”

Kolyat nearby coughed and Shepard broke eye contact with Thane.

“Sorry, son,” Thane said, though he most decidedly did not sound it.

“I’m thankful,” Shepard said, “for the work you put into giving me this break. It must have taken a considerable amount of time and influence.”

Kolyat shrugged.

“After traveling throughout the American Southwest for a while,” he said. “I figured we needed a change, and my father seemed to believe you would be going mad in lockdown.”

“It was boring,” she said, giving the younger drell her own shrug.

The food came out soon after that and Shepard enjoyed the peace of the meal and the gulf beside them.

The trio spent the rest of the day walking along the boardwalk, playing some of the arcade games and looking through the novelty clothing and kitschy tourist merchandise. 

It wasn’t until the sun was setting that Shepard and Thane led the way down the road to the house the military, or Liara, had procured. Shepard wasn’t sure she wanted to know the truth of the matter.

They cooked a small meal, the kitchen having already been stocked for the mixed species that were inhabiting the household.

Shepard invited her Special Forces guards to join them for a nice meal, Thane having grilled both local and exotic fish on the barbeque outside. 

When the meal was complete, Kolyat dismissed himself in favor of taking an after dark swim and for the first time since the night before the Omega Relay, Shepard found herself utterly alone with Thane.

“Siha,” he said, taking her hand and leading her into the living area. “I hope you have enjoyed this small reprieve.”

“You’ve brightened my month,” she smiled.

Thane turned to face her completely and Shepard looked up into his eyes.

“I will treasure this day for the rest of my life,” he admitted, coughing slightly. “Spending time with you and Kolyat makes me forget the troubles that will soon fill the galaxy. There will not be a lot of time to savor our loved ones once the enemy arrives.”

She felt a blush rise from her chest and color her cheeks as he cupped her face in the palms of his hands.

“Thane,” she started, leaning into his touch.

The thin membrane over his eyes fluttered and he moved across the small space between them, before pressing a kiss to her lips, his tongue darting out and wetting the sensitive skin.

“Come, Siha,” he said, murmuring his words against her parted lips. “Let us enjoy the stars.”


End file.
